Entwining Fates
by TheKingJingles
Summary: New summary: Kari is a strange shaman from Patch village with no past. When she ventures out into the world and joins the shaman tournament, meeting some of the strangest shamans in the world, falling for a guy she can't have. YohOC ON HIATUS
1. How did it come to this?

New story! I know! I'm crazy! (crazy dance) This is my first Shaman King story so be nice, I only get to watch the dub on TV and I'm reading the manga as we speak…read. So please don't yell at me if it's kinda weird. I'm like that.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Shaman King…drat.

**This Fan Fiction and Chapter is dedicated to Mikauzoran, AKA Kara. The second biggest Asakura Twin fan girl other than myself. PLEASE GET BETTER SOON!**

_

* * *

How did it come to this?_

"Yoh!"

His head whirled around, his beautiful brown hair rising and then falling. His dark chocolate eyes widened in horror as she fell back, her head falling fast and her legs being swept out from under her, arm reaching out to grab something, anything.

"No!"

Yoh dropped his sword, not caring or listening as it clanged to the ground, making dust rise around it. He ran as fast as his wooden sandals and worn out legs would carry him. The shaman's rasping breaths rattled his beaten lungs as he blinked the sweat and salty tears from his eyes.

He narrowed his eyes, crouching down and leaping forward, sliding on the harsh and spiky gravel until he came to the edge of the cliff. Yoh prayed he wouldn't be too late as his hand shot out, grasping onto something solid.

Glancing over the edge, his heart back flipped in relief that he had grabbed onto her outstretched hand. She still seemed dazed as her eyes traveled from the darkness below her, to Yoh's extended hand, firmly secured on her wrist.

"Yoh…"

"Just hand on! I got you! I won't let you go!" he cried, gritting his teeth.

Behind them, a spine-chilling maniacal laughter boomed through the area. She took a glance back at the fire raging behind them, growing ever more powerful and unstoppable. Another glance at Yoh, he was holding onto her like nothing else in the world mattered, but that was the problem.

"Yoh, listen to me! You have to go back and fight! Forget about me!"

"I'm not leaving you!" his answer slightly snarled back.

"Yoh, you have to! The fate of the world rides on this battle!"

"I don't care!"

She jerked a bit from his answer. After all this time preparing, after all this time training with the trainer from hell, after everything that all of them worked so hard for, he was going to throw it all away? It was his destiny, his job, to defeat the one man that would destroy the world, as we know it, yet now he didn't care.

Her head bowed down, her free fist clenching as tears threatened to spill. They had come this close, they were going to spend their lives together after they defeated him and he became the Shaman King. She, as well as he, knew the risks, but they didn't care. It was _her_ job to make sure Yoh won, at all costs.

"Yoh…" she murmured, head still lowered.

"Hold on! I'm gonna pull you up!"

"Yoh!" she screamed, finally getting his attention, "Yoh, I know how you don't want to, but you _have_ to forget about me and become the Shaman King!"

"But…"

"No buts! You only have one shot. You have to do this!"

"What about you?" one of his salty tears splashed on her face.

She looked up and saw his face drenched with sweat and tears, unable to stop. Looking through his eyes, she could tell that he also knew that this was the only way.

"I'll be fine," she whispered.

Yoh choked on his tears, "Promise?"

"Promise."

Suddenly, the fire cried out a strange roar, as it burned brighter. A part separated from it, looking like an arm and headed towards the two, but Yoh couldn't see it fast enough. The flame hit him straight in the back, making him cry out in pain, arching his body. His clammy hand lost his grip on her wrist for a moment, causing her to fall deeper into the pit.

"No!"

He quickly recovered and bent down further to catch her again. The shaman's once carefree and smiling face and been distorted, scrunching up in pain with his right eye closed tightly. His brown locks now spread messily over his head and matted to his sticky face.

"Yoh!"

"Don't worry about me! Are you alright?"

"Yoh…" a tear of her own escaped her eyes, "Yoh, you have to beat him! This is your only chance! If you lose, we all lose, the whole world loses!"

"I know…"

"Then do what you were born to do. Destroy him once and for all! Then no one will have to go through the pain we did," she said sadly.

The laughter grew louder, the fire burning bigger once again. It reached out and started to pummel Yoh again and again, causing him to squirm in torture. The beating only stopped when the boy collapsed to the ground, still holding the girl's hand.

The shaman leaned over the side, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but you're injured! And _he_ only grows stronger by the second! Please, Yoh! This is your only time to strike!"

He didn't answer. His other hand reached down as well, going to pick her up and carry her to safety. Meanwhile, the rest of his body wiggled closer and closer to the edge, if he lost his balance now, both would fall into the ominous black hole.

She closed her eyes tightly, blocking out all distractions. Yoh wanted to save her, no matter what the cost, but she knew that could never come to pass. If he wasted anymore time here, _he_ would surely win. The girl didn't train that hard, go through that much pain to see that bastard take the Shaman Throne.

Her nose itched as she coughed, breathing in the stale, smoky air. Her vision began to blur, from the haze, fatigue and sweat on her body. The darkness was gripping on at the edge of her mind, begging to bring her into unconsciousness.

From her daze, her thoughts wandered to her friends, new and old, her family waiting on the other side, and her family still in this one. Right now, they were cheering with all their strength, praying, begging and pleading that her and Yoh were successful.

Both sides of her mind had good ideals. She wanted to remain with Yoh, but the feeling of total despair, which everyone else would suffer, became too great.

Making up her mind, she opened her eyes, a stare of pure determination fixed upon her face. Yoh gasped in surprise, not quite understanding as her other arm grabbed onto the one he was using to hold her up.

"Yoh, listen to me and do not interrupt. I've always said that fate cannot be changed, that the great spirits of this realm guide us in everything we do. This is what they are telling me to do."

He looked at her with confusion flowing through his eyes. His mouth mumbled words he couldn't say, his eyes looking around, still not figuring out the answer.

"Yoh…remember…I love you."

In a flash, she slapped away his hand, pushing away from the edge of the cliff. Yoh couldn't move from shock, as she fell, himself, not able to do anything. She fell backwards, only looking up into his face, memorizing it one last time, before she disappeared amongst the shadows.

Yoh started at the spot he last saw her, his mouth hanging open, unable to say any words. Behind him, the fire burned and crackled evilly, a faint figure's shadow seen though the flames. It started as a low chuckle, before the fire burst into a malevolent laughter, the noise bouncing around the area.

The shaman closed his eyes firmly, gripping the sand and rock between his fingers. She was gone, his one reason for living…gone. Through the anguish, there was only one thing he could say, screaming her name at the top of his lungs.

"KARI!"

_How did it come to this?_

* * *

Strange chapter I know, BUT BARE WITH ME! This all came to me in a dream so I'm doing as the dream says. Next chapter it will start out at the beginning, don't worry. Please review! 


	2. Kari

Here's the second chapter! It's kinda short but that's because it felt like a good place to stop and I'm going on vacation (AGAIN) and still have to pack.

**I love athrun:** Ok! You da boss!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own THE Shaman King, but I do own the others…JUST KIDDING!

P.S.- I'm using the English names because I'm so used to them, only watch the dub on "4KidsTV". Also, I'm calling it Patch Village for the sole purpose, that I don't know how to spell it the English way, if you could tell me that'd be great.

P.P.S.- This and probably the next chapter will be all about Kari's past. Just so you know.

* * *

Patch Village seemed deserted from the naked eye, but if you were to look hard enough, people were working constantly in their cool clay homes, staying away from the harsh desert heat.

The Village Chief, Goldva was sitting in his cave, a crackling fire burning in front of him. He was wearing his usual tan Patch dress and long eagle feather headdress, covering most of his white long hair. Around his cave were carvings and stories telling legends of old.

To his right was another Patch tribesman, Silva. Silva wore his beige cloak and robe with traditional artwork decorating it. He also wore a red headband over his eyes and two eagle feathers behind his right ear, along with several bracelets and rings.

"Silva, the time draws nearer everyday." Goldva spoke in his raspy old voice.

Unfortunately, Silva wasn't listening; his attention was out of a hole in the cave wall. The young man was looking far out into the distance, past the village and into the desert on the horizon.

"Silva, are you listening? Silva!"

His eyes widened as he looked over at his chief, "Did you say something, Goldva?"

The old man narrowed his eyes, "Weren't you listening?"

"I'm sorry," Silva replied, "My mind as been wandering."

Goldva growled softly and stood up, walking over to Silva's side. He looked out the window as well as the young man, but he didn't see anything.

"What is so important out there that your mind wanders?" the chief questioned.

"I see something in the desert."

"What do you see?" Goldva narrowed his eyes.

"I am not sure, it is too far away."

"Where is it?"

Silva pointed to a spot, quite far away in the desert. Goldva narrowed his eyes and gasped. From this distance, it looked like a black dot waving in the heat rising in the air. Both of them knew something was wrong, it didn't look like a cactus and it appeared to be moving, ever so slowly.

The young man walked towards the entrance of the cave, his chief following soon after. They paced quickly through the huts of the village, a few heads popping out from inside with curious faces. When the two reached the edge of the parish, they squinted their eyes to try and get a better look.

Silva shook his head, looking down at the feeble old man beside him. The chief nodded and he stepped forward, ready to make the journey out into the desert. At first, the tribesman was in shock, before concentrating on the dark figure in the distance.

The two journeyed for hours, right when the sun was about in the middle of the sky. Silva stopped, and then rushed forward seeing it only a few hundred yards ahead of them. It looked like a person, a young child. It had collapsed long before and was lying with its head in the sand.

Goldva huffed as he jogged behind Silva, muttering something about "Being too old for this". He gazed down at the child, who was wearing a pink t-shirt and short blue shorts. The kid had short light brown and red hair that went a bit past the shoulders, wildly tangled through its head and matted to the face.

Gently, Silva rolled the child so that its face was out of the sand, seeing a young girl's face. Goldva leaned closer, checking for a heartbeat and breathing. The old chief sighed in relief when a soft, constant thumping and slow, shallow breaths were occurring regularly.

"What should we do, Goldva?" the young man asked, tucking some stray hairs behind the little girl's ear.

The elder thought wistfully, "We should take her back to the village. She does not look in the best shape."

"Right."

The younger of the two picked up the girl carefully and placed her on his back piggyback style. Then his senior led the way as they made the long trek back to the village.

* * *

The girl's eyes squeezed together, although already shut. She tried to move her arms, but found that to be useless. Her body was so sore; she didn't have the will to wake up.

There was a constant rustling sound by her ear, it started soft but grew louder and louder as her mind started to wake up. She tried to down it out and ignore it, but it just wouldn't go away. Carefully and painful, she tried to shift her body away from the noise, trying to get across that she didn't want to be disturbed. The racket, however, didn't comply and instead got louder, moving closer.

Finally, her eyes slowly fluttered her eyes open to reveal two bright blue eyes, tainted by pain and sadness. She lazily looked around the room to see someone to her right with their back to her, working on something. Glancing around the room, it seemed to be made of rock, with runes and pictures painted on the walls. There was also a good-sized fire burning heartily beside her.

She turned her head a bit too much and it fell to the side with the fire. Not feeling the energy to move it, her eyes stared at the crackling flame for a while before looking down. She couldn't see her clothes, just the animal skin blanket she was lying on and a bear's skin on top of her to keep her warm.

Hearing her shift, the figure turned around, its tan robes rustling to reveal a wrinkled old face. It broke out into a kind smile at her giant curious eyes, as the body turned around to reveal an old man with a long feathered crown.

"Glad to see you're awake."

She looked into his eyes, at first feeling fear. Her body scooted further away, until she winced and halted in pain, her body still too exhausted. The old man gave her a distressing look and turned to the fire, looking at it for a good solid moment before going back to what he was doing before.

In his lap was a mortar and pedestal with a green looking paste in it. The elder turned and grabbed a few more herbs from baskets against the rock wall and placed them inside the bowl. He then, started to crush everything together into a sauce.

"Eat this. It will help with your injuries." the raspy voice spoke.

He held out a spoon with the green much on it close to her head. At first she seemed skeptical, but gave in to his kind gaze and opened her mouth. The slime tasted strangely bland as she strained to finally swallow it.

The old man continued to feed her until all of the mush was gone. He put the bowl aside and pressed his wrinkly hand to her forehead, relieved that she didn't have a fever.

"Tell me child, how did you come to be alone in the desert?" the elder asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

The girl looked away, not ready to talk. The old Indian respected this and turned back towards the fire. He heard a sound and looked over, seeing tears covering the young girl's face as she struggled visibly and mentally against herself. His attention went back to the fire until he heard a mumble.

"My…name is Kari."

The old man watched as Kari fumbled with the blanket, curling up into a ball as if she was cold, or fighting a bad memory, her voice raspy, making her unable to speak very clearly.

"My parwents and I… we wa gonna go on vacafun. We got on da plane and they swaid everyting was fine… but den… the endwine bloo up. My parwents gave me da parachute and twold me to jump… I was so scarwed and everyone was scrweaming, I just did as Mommy told me. Da next thing I rwemember… I was on the grwound and I couldn't see the airyplane. So I stwarted to walk around… then I don't rwemember."

(My parents and I… we were going on vacation. We got on the plane and they said everything was fine… but then… the engine blew up. My parents gave me the parachute and told me to jump… I was so scared and everyone was screaming, I just did as Mommy told me. The next thing I remember… I was on the ground and I couldn't see the airplane. So I started to walk around… then I don't remember.)

The elder looked on in sorrow, this orphan had nowhere to go and no other family. Yet, he sensed a familiar aura around the girl, the one of everyone in his tribe. He could tell that his girl could see the spirits and either was or could be a shaman.

"Child, do you know what a shaman is?"

She shook her head, a few teardrops flying every which way. Kari uncurled herself a bit, growing warmer to this old man.

"Would you like to stay here and become one?"

The elder reached out his wrinkled hand and she started curiously at it. For being a young girl, she was incredibly smart and she knew that her parents wouldn't be coming back. Having nowhere to go, she grasped the hand weakly and stared into his eyes, full of kindness.

"My name is Goldva, I will watch after you from now on." he whispered.

Kari was fading fast, not able to stay awake any longer. Her hand became limp in Goldva's as her head bowed down into the pelt pillow, her eyes drooping.

"Thank you…" and then she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

A few days later, Kari had almost fully recovered from severe exhaustion and dehydration. She had been clothed in the traditional Patch shirt, which looked like a poncho, and shorts decorated in the tribes unique markings. On her head was a blue headband with a few markings, placed to keep her wild hair out of her eyes.

Goldva had made her an official member of the Patch tribe, giving her the initiation ceremony. The girl was now part of the tribe and would remain that way forever. Even if she could leave the village and go back to civilization, she didn't want to.

The chief was teaching her about how the Patch connects with nature, and things about the outside world. He told her about the Great Spirit and she listened especially well during that part. When Goldva came to the part about the Shaman Commissioners, Kari was intrigued.

"Goldva-sama? Can I be a commissioner too? I want to become a shaman and bond with the Great Spirit!"

The elder chuckled, looking down upon her shining eyes, "If you want, I could teach you to be a shaman."

She jumped up immediately, her hands in fists, "Of course I do! I wanna be just like the others of the village! I want to be a powerful shaman and connect everyone to nature!"

"What an admiral dream." he replied with a smile, "Then I shall teach you in the ways of the shaman."

Before Goldva knew what happened, Kari had run up and hugged him. She was squeezing tightly and buried her head in his cloak, tears streaming off her face.

"Thank you, Goldva-sama!"

The old man couldn't help but smile as he placed his hand on her head, patting it. He looked up at the great stars, shining brightly above them. He could see the Great Spirit all around them, in the village, the forest, the people, and hopefully a noble spirit like Kari would become the Shaman King.

* * *

Yey! It's over!

-sama: to put on the end of someone's name and give him or her great respect.

Please review!


	3. Trouble in the Village

Yey! Next chapter! I love this one a lot, I'm not sure why.

**Mikauzoran:** Ohmygod! You read my story! Ohmygod! YOU LIKED MY STORY! Ok girl, breath! In, out, in, out. Thank you so much! I'm glad you like it! And I'm so sad Ivy, Shaman Runaway is done! You better do some more top-notch stories girl!

**Disclaimer:** Nope… don't own it. Wish I did… but don't.

* * *

Kari sighed contently and snuggled deeper into her cloak, sitting in her hiding spot. She was up in a tall tree, sitting on a strong outstretched branch with leaves all around her, rustling in the wind. Around her was the giant forest, surrounding the great lake in the middle of the desert.

She sighed again, breathing in the fresh air and slouching against the wood. She could hear birds chirping and squirrels running ever hurriedly over the bark of the trees, searching for food. Her eyes closed half way before shutting completely as the teen fell into a daze.

The girl lie there sleeping under the mighty tree, when a giant eagle cried from up above. She didn't move at the sound or as the bird of prey flew dangerously low, flapping and landing on a smaller limb closely above where she was sleeping.

The bird tilted its head and watched the dozing teen before it's shape strangely disfigured. It's head became larger and it's body smaller, the feathers on it's body turning white, a white glow surrounding the its whole body.

"Kari… Kari… Wake up, girl!" called an annoying, crackly voice.

Kari jerked at the noise and opened her eyes a sliver. She blinked about stupidly before stifling a yawn and looked up and the peculiar glowing bird.

"Silver Wing… what's the matter?" she asked, rubbing sleep from her eye.

"Eh, Silva's been looking for you. It seems there's another rogue spirit running around. He says it would be good practice for you." Silver Wing shrugged.

"Practice or no practice, it would be way too easy," she groaned, turning over and pulling her cloak over her head like a blanket, "Anyway, I just want to sleep right now. Tell him I'll do it later."

"He thought you'd say something like that," replied the eagle.

"Really?"

"Yep, and he says I've been given permission to bring you by force if necessary."

"That's nice." she yawned.

"Kari…" Silver Wing's tone turned threatening.

The shaman moaned and curled up into a ball, hiding in her poncho. The bird could hear her muffled thoughts coming from the cloth, as she let out her frustration. After a minute, the eagle wasn't phased and she peeked out the top hole of her clothes and glared at him.

"How can Silva expect me to do work on a day like this?" she growled, "It's so peaceful here, the trees rustle in the breeze, the ripples racing across the lake… Even the animals don't want to work on such a gorgeous day, with the sun shining and the weather warm."

"Mean while, a delinquent spirit is destroying our crops." He butted in.

"Fine! I'll go!"

The eagle grinned in satisfaction as the girl moaned and sat up straight, yawning and stretching out her tense muscles. She fumbled and straightened out her poncho and crouched on the branch. Her moccasin moved and placed itself against the truck of the tree and pressed firmly against it, holding her weight. Her hand grasped the bark and her body lowered as she climbed down the tree.

Accidentally, her animal skin moccasin landed on a patch of slippery moss, still wet from the morning dew, hiding in the opposite direction from the sun. The pelt slipped, making Kari loose her grip on the tough bark and her weight made her fall.

Her mouth opened and let out a scream, her hand reaching up to try and hopelessly grab onto a branch. Then, her body jerked as something wrapped around her hand, preventing her from falling any further. Looking up, she saw a clawed three-toed foot grasping tightly to her wrist.

"You know, you sure are slow when you wake up." Silver Wing said, glancing down at her.

"I told you I didn't want to do this right now."

The spirit smirked and flapped his mighty wings, turning slightly and flying on the thermals closer to the village. In the distance were small square shaped buildings of Patch Village, and a ways away, smoke and dust spewed into the air.

* * *

A woman screamed as she held her baby closer in its blanket. She ran away as a giant armored leg smashed into a nearby square clay house, making giant chunks of clay and dust fly everywhere.

When the dust cleared a giant scorpion stood up taller next to the destroyed building. It pulled back its leg and turned all eight around, its tail twitching. The body was huge and black, plates of armor covering it with a strange red glow surrounding it.

The scorpion rose onto its back six legs and let out an earsplitting howl with its two front legs pawing at the air. Around it, villagers ran for safety away from the monster as it started to run along the edge of the town.

From the distance, a Patch tribesman stood on a high cliff, watching as the scorpion continued its parade in far by the horizon. He slowly shook his head and his outfit fluttered in the desert breeze coming from behind him, his headband and two feathers behind his ear leaned forward before settling down.

"Silva!"

The man looked up and saw a teenaged girl flying towards him, holding onto a glimmering white bird. The eagle swooped down to the ground, the girl's feet dropping an inch before she was firmly planted on the soil. The eagle then flapped twice before perching on her shoulder.

"What took you so long?" Silva demanded.

Kari shrugged, "I was sleeping in the forest."

The elder groaned and brought a hand from under his poncho, rubbing his temples. He glanced up at her through his fingers and saw that she looked unusually calm for the destruction going on around them.

"Look, It has already destroyed several buildings. Luckily, no one was hurt. You should be able to take care of this just fine." Silva explained.

"Definitely," she looked over at the spirit on her shoulder, "Give me a lift, Silver Wing?"

"Alright, alright!"

The eagle lifted off from the young shaman's shoulder and flapping in the air, grasping onto her outstretched hand. Fluttering his wings, the bird took off into the air with her body dangling underneath him, flying straight towards the insect.

Silver Wing flew low to the ground and dropped her off about a hundred yards from the raging scorpion, catching its attention. As the bird perched on her shoulder again, the arachnid turned to them, charging forward.

"Stop!" Kari cried, her hand held in front of her.

The scorpion didn't listen and continued to charge, dust and debris flailing everywhere. She dropped her hand to her side and took in a deep breath before looking at the bird on her shoulder.

"He won't listen to reason. He is blinded by hate and rage, we must try to calm him before he will stop." she spoke with wisdom in her voice from beyond her years.

"Whatever you say, kid."

The young shaman smirked and held out her hand. Silver Wing's body evaporated in a sudden wind as it blew over and formed into a ball like substance in her palm. The sphere glowed a white, light blue color and showed two giant eyes and a beak on the front of it.

"Spirit Form, Hitodama mode! Silver Wing, Hyoui Gattai! Unity!"

Shouting the magical words, Kari lifted her hand to the sky, before plunging the sphere form of Silver Wing into her chest. When lifting her hand away, there was no evidence that the sphere had ever been there; it had completely vanished. In her body, Silver Wing and Kari's mind formed into one, their bodies merged into one being.

On her back, Kari's poncho ruffled and spread apart, two giant eagle wings emerging. They rose until the very tips were stretched out to the sky, the beautiful white feathers gleaming with a mysterious glow in the sunlight.

The scorpion let out another great roar and sent one of its forelegs swiftly at the girl, who had her head down, shadow covering her eyes. Just as the armored leg went to pierce her skin, the shaman raised her head, showing off her glowing eyes.

At the last second, Kari jumped about a hundred feet into the air, spreading her newfound wings and taking flight, as the leg of the scorpion sunk into the sand and rock where she once stood. The insect looked around dumbly as she flapped her wings and hovered above it.

Finally, it realized that she had fled to the sky and let out a shrill high-pitched shriek that would be able to crack glass. The scorpion started to foam at its mouth and launched its stinger straight at the birdman in the sky.

The shaman easily tilted her body and dodged the attack. As the stinger went so high, it would take awhile before it could be used to attack again, she dove down, folding her wings to increase her speed. Almost crashing into the arachnid before spreading out the platinum wings and gliding along its back.

The scorpion had fast reflexes, turning is eyes and its body slightly, and it pulled down the stinger, aimed at Kari's back. A smirk appeared on her face as she pulled up abruptly, causing the stinger to crash into the ground, giant boulders closing in around it.

With a few flaps, she was up high in the sky again, looking down at the scorpion as it screeched and roared, trying to unleash its tail. After a last yank, the stinger released itself, making its body stumble back a few steps, before glaring around and snarling at the shaman.

She smiled and motioned for it to follow her with her hand, turning and flapping off away from the village. Instantly, its anger and thirst for revenge made it follow obediently, eager to cut open her body. Blinded by its rage, the desert monster followed her wherever she went, not paying attention to the surroundings.

Soon, its left foreleg sank into the sand, causing the others behind it to crash into each other. The scorpion shrieked and tried to push down and stand up again, but its other legs started to submerge as well. After a moment, all of the legs and the tail had been completely submerged into the quick sand, making the insect unable to move or attack.

Kari waited until she was sure it wouldn't move and dived down, stopping to hover right next to its face. Though completely stuck, its head continued to rant and thrash about, trying to harm her in any way possible.

"God, I hate scorpions," she whispered.

Her hand came up from underneath her poncho and gently placed itself on the side of the head, still raging about. At first, it was hard to form a connection. The beast was so angry, but she puzzled how something could make it _this _angry.

"_Friend, stop your rampage. You have damaged much, and what have you gained? Go back to your home, live there in peace, as we will live in peace."_ her melody-like voice rang through to its head, making it pause, _"Go home. Live there and we will not bother you further. Leave this place and live in peace."_

The scorpion stopped lashing and stood still. It's many eyes were boring into hers, checking for honesty and sincerity. Her brown eyes shimmered in the golden light of the desert sun, showing no lies intended.

Its many eyes slowly closed, the aura around it disappearing as the giant beast shrank down, back to its regular size. Kari looked down and her wings stretched to its limits again, having her fall to the ground before disappearing beneath her cloak.

Her moccasins sank a bit in the sand as she walked over to where the scorpion lay, the size of her fist. It looked up at her, its eight eyes twirling, before it crawled its way to a hump of sand and dug into it, fleeing into the deep earth.

"I'm glad that's over," she said as Silver Wing materialized onto her shoulder once more.

She stared at the hole in which it had disappeared, and then jumped up and down, squealing, "I hate scorpions!"

The eagle snorted and looked back towards the village, where Silva and several others came running. Kari stopped her tantrum as they approached, crowding around her excitedly.

"Kari," Silva spoke, "I am impressed every time you calm another restless spirit, always without the need of violence."

"Thanks Silva!"

"Though, getting your own guardian spirit might be nice."

Her jaw dropped, "What do you mean?"

"I think what he means," another tribesman stepped forward, "Is that you should go out and find your own guardian and break apart from Silver Wing. He was originally Silva's guardian, you know."

"Shut up, Kalim!"

Kalim was dressed almost identical to Silva, apart from his headband. It was plain red while Silva's had a pattern of white triangles, and the new comer and a feather behind both ears, instead of two behind one.

"He's got a point you know." Silva nodded.

"I know what this is about," Kari frowned and started to scratch the eagle in question under his beak, "You're just jealous that I work perfectly with Silver Wing, while you have to use all of your other spirits."

"Kari," Silva groaned and rubbed his forehead, "You know that I need all five of my spirits to be a commissioner for the Shaman Fights coming soon. What will you do when I have Silver Wing with me while I'm hundreds of miles away?"

She pouted and bit her lip, not responding. Her heels whipped her body around and she refused to look at Silva, bowing her head with her arms crossed. She stood there for a minute before abruptly dashing away, before anyone could stop her, heading towards the forest.

Silva, Kalim and Silver Wing watched as her body shrank into the distance, before disappearing completely amongst the trees. Silva sighed and scratched the back of his head absentmindedly, when he felt a nudge in his side. Glancing over, Kalim stood with his arms crossed and a prompting look on his face.

"What?"

"You should go after her."

"Why?"

Kalim narrowed his eyes, "You know why. She knows that we have to leave soon, and then she'll be all alone and without a spirit. We all know how shy she is, she's too afraid to find her own guardian ghost."

"True," the other replied, "But she won't be alone. There's Goldva, and Lip and Lap…"

Kalim raised an eyebrow, then sighed, "It's true that Chief will be here, along with Lip and Lap, but…"

"Yes," Silva picked up, "I know she wants to be a shaman commissioner, but what about the King of Spirits?"

"What about him?"

"What if the King of Spirits needs to send an oracle? What will we do if Kari is not here to receive it?"

"I don't think it matters whether she is here or not. You know that the King of Spirits called her here years ago to save her life. I'm sure if something important happens the Great Spirit will be able to contact her," he answered, shutting his eyes in thought.

Silva didn't answer, but looked down at the dune while Silver Wing fidgeted on his shoulder.

"That's not all that's worrying you, is it?"

Again, he didn't answer.

Kalim grinned, "You're worried about her going out on her own."

"What?" shouted the tribesman, flushing and speaking hurriedly, "That is definitely not the case! You know as well as I do that she is very capable of being by herself!"

"C'mon Silva! You think of her like a sister and we all know it!" squawked Silver Wing, "You just being a worrywart that she'll run off with tons of guys and get a boyfriend."

"That's it! I'm going to go talk to her now!"

With that, Silva hastily marched to the forest, leaving a puzzled Kalim and Silver Wing, who fluttered to the other shaman's shoulder, behind. They watched as he puffed and muttered to himself and stomped away, also disappeared into the dense trees.

"Yep. He's worried," said the spirit.

"Most definitely."

* * *

Silva stomped and trailed through the brush, carefully bending small branches out of his way. He listened intently to the noises of the forest, hearing only the crunching of leaves under his feet, and also a muffled noise. The shaman stopped and brought his hand to his ear, but still couldn't hear what it was exactly.

Pushing ones last clump of leaves out of his way, he emerged into a stunning clearing. There were flowers surrounding a crystal clear lake with a meadow leading all the way to the forest on edge of it all. On a grassy hill sat Kari, her head bowed and her arms wrapped around her knees, shaking gently.

Taking a deep breath, Silva hiked out of the forest and onto the plain, right up behind her. He watched and heard as she sobbed into her poncho, not looking up at him. Sighing, he sat down next to her, gazing out onto the lake, waiting for the words to come.

"Kari…"

"No Silva… it's ok."

He looked over as her tear stained and red eyes peeked out from under the cloth. Her eyes were slightly swollen and a constant, but small stream of tears continued to fall.

"I'm… sorry. It's just… I knew you guys had to leave, to go out and test all of the shamans. Goldva says that I can't be a commissioner because I'm too young, but… he said that if the winds of change are with me, and if the Great Spirit allows it, I might be able to go." she choked out.

"That's not it, is it?" he asked.

"No… I guess I'm just not ready to back out to that world. It abandoned me, and only you took me in, raising me like I was your own…" she sighed, "I know I'm making no sense."

Silva shook his head, "You're making perfect sense. This is your home, you just feel sad that you might have to leave it. There may not be many friendly people out there, but there are some, and remember, you always can return here."

Kari gazed in awe at him. She then looked down and wiped her eyes with her cloak, sniffing and clearing her throat.

"Thanks Silva."

"It's my pleasure… Just don't come home with any boy friends."

* * *

I really liked that chapter, I think I described everything really well. It helps after reading a real book. Oh, well, oh, and if you're wondering about that whole "oracle" thing, it will be explained in the next chapter. Just so you know. Please review! 


	4. Her New Quest

All right! Back from vacation and ready to post this new chapter! This is kinda long, but explains some things I thought you might have questions about, so… enjoy I guess.

**Mikauzoran:** I know! I loved that too! I thought people would get a kick out of that. In that sentence he reminds me of my dad, only my dad would say, "You come home with a boyfriend, your grounded for eternity" and then he would kill my boyfriend in the most horrible ways know to man.

Aww! How come you people aren't reviewing? Why don't you read my story? Waaaahhh!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it. What more do you want? My money? Well I don't have any… HA!

* * *

A few months had passed since the giant scorpion had ravished Patch Village; the destroyed buildings had been rebuilt and live continued on. The people overcame the shock and worked together to fix up the village to its original glory.

Since that time, other creatures had attacked the village, hate and anger coursing through their veins. Each of them was stopped in the same way, a non-violent solution where Kari used her unique shaman abilities to calm their hatred.

The only thing that the great young shaman failed to do, was get her own guardian ghost.

Kari was laying in a tree, a usual activity, her eyes closed and her hands placed behind her head as a makeshift pillow. The cool breeze blowing off the lake ruffled her cloak and tangled her hair a bit as her eyes fluttered under the lids as she dreamed.

This tree wasn't very tall, but was set in a good spot by the lake, the cool water and breeze keeping her cool during the summer's heat. The grand star still shown down with the greatest intensity yet, only being avoided by the shade the leaves were providing.

"Kari!"

She groaned and rolled over in her sleep, covering her head with her poncho. A lone hand reached up and pulled a branch with a lot of leaves closer to her body, in attempts to hide.

"Kari! We know you're there!"

Moaning, she called out in a muffled voice, "What do you want?"

"Goldva-sama wants to see you!"

The young shaman pulled the cloth down from over her head and shifted, leaning with her back against the tree and glanced down. There were two identical girls beneath the oak, they were dressed exactly the same with a dress with Patch markings on it as well as a rope around their foreheads holding a feather in the back while their braded hair hung down against their backs.

"Did he say why?" she yelled.

"I don't think so! At least," one turned to her twin, "Did he, Lip?"

The other brought her little stubby index finger to her chin, "I don't think so, Lap."

Kari rolled her eyes and smiled, they were cute, but not very smart. The two continued to question their own information, ignoring the one they came to fetch.

She rolled onto her knees and crouched in a cat-like position and held onto a branch above her, leaning over and gazing at the two below her. In a swift motion, she leaped from the branch she had been sleeping on, to squatting on the ground in front of the twins, her hair now wind whipped and cloak flapping in the wind.

"Wow! That was so cool!" both cried.

Kari couldn't help but smirk as she stood up, straightening her poncho. The eldest lead the way through the forest while the two little ones circled around her, chatting excitedly. The birds and squirrels in the area squeaked and ran away from their noise.

"Kari! Kari! Can you do your trick? Please?" asked Lip, her eyes widening and her lower lip sticking out while her hands clasped together.

"Yeah! Can ya? Please?" Lap begged, copying her sister.

"Why? You've seen it a thousand times." Kari tried to back out.

"Please?"

One look in their eyes and she couldn't control herself. Those kids had a way of making her bend to their will like a slave, the ultimate puppy dog face. The shaman tried to not look them in the eye, mustering her own strongest face, but was defeated with no competition.

"Fine. I'll do it."

The twins cheered as she led them to a small little clearing in the forest. There was a tiny crack in the ground with water flowing through it, not great enough to call a stream, more likely a creek. Around it, few animals were drinking, mostly squirrels and birds, but as well as a fox and maybe a deer or two.

Kari walked calmly and quiet right next to the creek, all of the animals pausing to look up at her fearfully. The shaman looked at them with a warm smile on her face, some of their worries disappearing. She reached into her poncho and fumbled around with a small leather sack, pulling out an ocarina, a wooden type flute and put it to her lips.

She only played one long note and all the animals around her felt their tension to flow away like the water in the creek. Her fingers slid down the smooth wood to another note, the animals twitching their ears in surprise. The sound came out beautifully, soothing and almost hypnotizing. The creatures trotted gleefully over to her side and lie down, listening to the wonderful, yet simple melody.

"Wow…" Lip and Lap gasped on the sidelines.

Smiling, Kari stuffed the ocarina back into her pouch, pulling it tight with a string that wrapped around it. A few animals, mainly squirrels and birds, stood up and started to run or fly around her, hoping that she would play with them.

She motioned for the two girls and they came rushing over obediently. The eldest picked up a squirrel and up it in Lip's outstretched hands. The little animal didn't go berserk but sat quietly while the little girl pet him.

Kari also called a little blue bird onto her finger and placed it on Lap's shoulder, the bird tweeting happily and nuzzling her face. Soon, the squirrel lost its patients and ran up and down Lip like she was a tree, laughing at his tail, which was tickling her to a large degree. The bird just sang out its song and hopped around on the other twin's shoulder.

"Alright? You happy now?" Kari asked, "Now I'm really late to see Goldva-sama."

"Oh… yeah." the twins laughed nervously.

The shaman groaned, standing up and shaking the dirt off her poncho, "Come on."

"Kari?"

"What now?"

Lip looked down at the squirrel holding tightly onto her leg, "He doesn't want to come off."

The eldest of the trio rolled her eyes, "Either shake him off or keep him, I don't care. Just come on or Goldva-sama will be even more mad at us."

Unwillingly, Lip shook her leg a bit harshly and the squirrel flew off, muttering before it ran off into the trees. Lap held the little bird on her finger and said a more polite good-bye as it fluttered away into the wood, singing happily away.

The twins continued to what they were doing before, skipping around Kari as she walked briskly down a path in the woods, the lighting growing ever brighter the further the went away from the heart of the forest.

Pushing the last branch of leaves out of the way, the young shaman squinted and brought her hand to cover her eyes from the blazing sun. The two little girls hid behind her legs and gazed around in the same fashion, looking at the magnificent sight of Patch Village from the distance.

The twins immediately ran forward through the sand dunes, giggling and zigzagging around with their arms outstretched, pretending to fly or some other make-believe. She couldn't help but smile at their little game, chasing each other along the sand and slowly making their way toward the village.

Unfortunately, Kari didn't have time to smell the desert roses and continued her vigorous march down the slopes. As soon as she passed Lip and Lap, they ran back to her side, jogging to keep up with her larger strides and staring up curiously at her as they walked.

"What do you think Goldva-sama wants to talk to you about?"

Glancing down, she shrugged, "I have no idea."

Lap ran a little faster and tugged on Kari's cloak, gaining her attention. Then, she closed her eyes and crossed her arms, acting like she had supreme wisdom.

"I bet is has something to do with the tournament." the child said.

Kari didn't reply but looked straight ahead as they entered the town. Villagers bowed and greeted the young shaman as she walked down the main road, stepping out of her way and pulling their children along as well, leaving the street empty with a crowd gathered at the sides. A few kids ran out and giggled around with Lip and Lap, running around the shaman's feet and playing loudly.

The mothers all smiled as their children played happily and the fathers beamed down proudly at the kids, watching as the boys wrestled in the sand and the girls cheer for a cute boy. Kari watched how the children all circled around her feet, imitating her every move. How she walked, how she held her head up high and how her fists were slightly balled as she walked.

All of the little boys and girls of Patch Village wanted to be like her, The Guardian, they called her. She jumped into a situation, regardless of what it was to help out the villagers. Be it for quelling a rampaging spirit, helping to bake the bread in the local bakery or help out with farm work. There were many rumors about why she did this: she had a kind heart, it was part of her shaman training, but most people believed that she thought she owed something to the village, determined to pay back her dues.

At the end of the main street, the crowd had thinned, to where there was no one at all. The children waved and hurried back to their parents and homes, leaving the three in a wide empty street. Ahead was a large cave, built into the side of a mountainous cliff, towering over the village.

Totem polls and carvings decorated the entrance to the cave, while there were silk rugs lying in the entranceway that the trio walked upon. Inside the cave, it smelled musty and strong of herbs as they entered the main room. There was a large fire cackling in the middle of the room and baskets, carvings and trinkets lining the walls.

"You're late." a sharp hoarse voice called.

Kari walked right in front of the fire and bowed, "Gomen nasai. I'm sorry, Goldva-sama."

"I sent Lip and Lap to get you an hour ago."

The twins stepped forward and bowed their heads and spoke in unison, "We're sorry Jii-sama."

"We went to fetch her like you asked…" began Lap.

"But we got distracted." finished Lip.

There was silence for a moment. The fire made the only noise besides very creaky breathes of an elder person. A cloud of smoke blew into the fire and was carried up and out of the cave as the twins fidgeted nervously.

"Well… As long as you are here, I see no harm done."

All three took a giant sigh of relief. The figure behind the fire motioned with its wrinkly hand for them to sit and the three complied, Kari sitting on a cushion closest next to the flame and the twins sitting on either side of her a ways back.

Once everyone was settled, the fire mysteriously rose up, and then died down to a small flame, so that the figure was clearly shown. An old man sat on a tan cushion, wearing a Patch dress and giant eagle feather headdress, smoking a long Peace Pipe covered in paint with an eagle feather hanging from it.

"Kari," the chief Goldva spoke, "Do you know why I have called you here?"

She shook her head and chose to remain silent.

"I-"

The chief was cut off as Kari's body jerked, rising off of the ground so that her butt was raised and she was sitting on her limp knees. Her head rose to the sky, her eyes glowing a strange white, the same substance shining out of her nose and slightly agape mouth. Her chest puffed out, looking like it was being pulled to the ceiling of the cave by a string. Her golden brown hair floated around her face, tangling and untangling as her clothes rustled by an unseen wind.

After a long moment, Goldva stared at her body and Lip and Lap had run up next to her, hands raised to hold her up, stopping several inches from her body, Kari slowly floated back down onto the cushion. Her body was sitting cross-legged again, but her figure was severally hunched, her raspy breathes echoing through the cave.

"Wha… What was it?" Goldva asked shakily, one of his hands outstretched and bobbing a bit up and down, "What did you see, child?"

She took in a great breathe and released it before looking up, still panting slightly, staring her chief in the eyes, "The Great Spirit… has shown me why you have brought me here today."

The old man jerked in surprise while the twins glanced at each other curiously. Goldva remained frozen before he was finally able to thaw, staring down at the fire in deep thought. Then he looked up and smiled a weary grin, both sadness and happiness showing in his eyes.

"Well then…" he cleared his throat, "You know, Kari, ever since we found you in the desert all those years ago and taken you into our village, I have treated you fairly. In fact, you have grown on me, the villagers and Lip and Lap, that we believe your spirit was born in this village, your body born away from it and you now have finally found your way back home. In that time, I have come to think of you as my own, another granddaughter that I have utmost hope and pride in."

Lip and Lap looked at each other, then at their grandfather. Their mouths opened to speak, but fell short as he raised a wrinkled hand to stop them, not breaking his gaze from Kari. The girl herself had her hands clenching tightly on her knees, making her knuckles turn white while her eyes brimmed with tears.

Goldva brought his pipe to his lips and blew out a cloud of smoke before continuing, "From the moment you set foot in this village, I, as well as Silva and the others knew that you were special.

"Shortly after you arrived here, you were given an oracle, a vision from the King of Spirits. He told you about the boy which had been injured in the woods, and we were able to save him in time. We could tell that you had a very unique power that not even shaman council members had: A connection to the King of Spirits, as well as a bond with nature, like it was a single spirit itself. You have always had an aura that draws spirits and ghosts to you, people and animals as well.

"Since that time, you have received many prophesies from the Great Spirit, bringing hope and prosperity to this land. I see now that you have a great gift, and are indeed a Chosen One to tip the scales one way or another in this world, in the Shaman Fights, if not become the Queen herself."

Kari straightened, "You mean…"

The chief nodded, "You wished to be a shaman commissioner and your request was denied. We had feared that you would be put in harm's way, unable to give us further instructions or messages from the Great Spirit. It is clear to me now that we were wrong."

The young girls gasped audibly. The young shaman in question gulped and felt sweat condense on her forehead but wouldn't break her concentration on the chief. Thousands of thoughts were rushing through her head, she had to shake it powerfully to clear her mind and help the throbbing.

"So… you're going to let me become a Shaman Commissioner?" she asked slowly.

"No."

Kari's visible dreams shattered in an instant. The King of Spirits himself told her that she was to be fighting! She snapped back into reality when the grandfather chuckled heartily, watching as her mouth hit the floor and slowly wind back up again.

"You are not going to be a Shaman Commissioner like Silva," spoke Goldva, his tone returning to serious, "As your fate unrolls before you, you are to decide which side shall win in the end, only you can bring peace to the world, or destruction."

When Kari didn't answer he continued, "Which is why… you will not be fighting in the tournament as a commissioner, but as a contestant."

The other three in the room jumped; Kari staring wide-eyed with her mouth slightly open while the twins balled their little fists and brought them to their mouths in worry and shock. Their adopted older sister would not only be leaving them, but going back out into the world that "Shunned" her as they put it, not only would the best shaman the village has ever seen be leaving as well.

"You… You mean," she stuttered, "I get to g-go out… f-fight in the t-tournament… r-really?"

Goldva nodded, "Yes. You are to leave immediately so that you may adventure and train like the normal contestants. Though you have strong spiritual powers, you don't have a guardian spirit of your own, and that could be a problem."

"Why does everyone have to keep bringing that up?" she thought out loud.

"All the other contestants have found their partners and have created battle strategies, techniques and have trained. This gives them the advantage. You must go out and find a guardian spirit of your own and train mercilessly if you hope to have a chance in the tournament." explained the chief.

"I… err… Yes. Of course, Goldva-sama."

"Then… you must set out right away."

Kari looked into his eyes and felt the unshed tears fall down her cheeks. The old man had clear shiny streams flowing down his face with a genuine smile on his face, that grandfather twinkle in his eye.

"Wait!"

The two eldest moved their gaze the little girls. Both of them had tears rushing down their cheeks and snot dripping out of their noses. They both had looks of pure devastation on their faces, like the world was going to combust. (1)

"You can't go!" Lip cried, "W-What about us? What about the village?"

"You can't leave us!" Lap shouted.

Kari swiveled around on her cushion, facing the sobbing twins. She shook her arm so that her poncho covered her hand and leaned forward, wiping the tears and snot off their faces. Giving them a warm smile, she pulled them into a hug, burying their faces in her shoulders.

"Look, you two know that I must do this for my destiny, the path that the King of Spirits had set for me. I have to go and you two know it."

"Y-You'll be o-ok right?" one chocked.

Kari smiled, "I'll be fine. I go off and get my own guardian spirit and return stronger than ever!"

"Aren't you worried?" bawled Lap.

"No." _'YES!' _"I know that I will defeat anyone who comes in the way of my destiny!"

The speech seemed to calm the young girl's nerves, for they smiled and hugged her tightly one more time. The two them moved out of the way so she was able to stand up before turning to look at Goldva again. The elder raised his hand and Silva came out of the shadows, carrying an animal skin backpack in his arms.

"These are some supplies we gathered for you, to go on your journey. We have piled together some money for your journey, but…" The chief looked down embarrassed, "There was not a lot of extra money, most of it went to the commissioners, but we did salvage some."

Kari nodded and took the pack, sliding the straps onto her shoulders while the actual pack hung underneath her poncho, a little bit sticking out. Her moccasins made little tapping noises in the earth as she walked to the mouth of the cave, pausing to turn back and look at her grandfather.

"Good luck." said Goldva.

She nodded and turned, whispering, "Thank you." before she disappeared into the sunlight.

* * *

Well, what did you think? Huh? Tell me!

1- You know how little kids get. For some reason, whenever they cry, snot comes out of their nose like tears.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, though I'm sad that I'm only getting one review. Why don't you review? Is it because I missed that episode of the dub two weeks ago? It wasn't my fault! I wanted to see it! My power just failed! Oh crap… I better go, I feel a mood swing coming. Please review!


	5. Meeting Aiko

Here's the next chapter! Not much to say here except: SO TIRED!

**Kisurumenokitsune:** Wow! New reviewer! Thanks for the review and I'm glad you like it! And I'll take your advice!

**Mikauzoran:** Thanks! I don't care how much time you have, I love it that you review my story at all! And about your advice, As Quick As Shamanly Possible… SPIRIT INTO THE COMPUTER! (computer fries) Damn! How come Morty could do it and I can't!

**Disclaimer:** In my dreams, quite literally

* * *

"I don't believe it!" 

Kari shouted stretching her arms up into the air, before collapsing on the wooden bench she was sitting on. On her lap was the animal skin, beaded pack with the top flap open, reveling its contents. There were a few things to remind her of home, her beloved ocarina, and several papers on hotels, restaurants, graveyards and a few maps.

She was currently glaring at the envelope in her hand, along with a wallet that men usually carry in their back pockets.

"I know Goldva-sama said they didn't have much money, but I can't even buy a soda with this!" she growled.

Above her, a few birds whistled angrily and flew away from the raging shaman. She was currently in Japan, by some quiet park outside of the Tokyo International Airport. It was dusk and the sun just disappeared over the horizon, the moon's glow lighting the night sky.

She snarled and threw the wallet back into the backpack harshly, keeping the envelope tightly in her hand. It was amazing that they had enough money to _get_ her to Tokyo, much less afford a hotel or even pay for a decent meal. In the back of her mind, the shaman knew the chief and Silva had to pull some strings to get these airplane tickets.

From her last appearance in Patch Village, she had changed quite a bit. Goldva and Silva had provided some clothes to try and make her "Fit in". A dress from the Sixteenth Century _definitely_ didn't make her look like a freak.

Unfortunately for them, she sold the dress to an antique shop and got quite a lot of money, more than they gave her at least. With that money, she headed straight to the nearest Gap and other stores to buy some normal clothes. The clerks gave her weird looks with her poncho and moccasins, but she was able to buy what she needed and leave as soon as possible.

Kari was now wearing something Silva would unquestionably loathe. Silently, the young shaman questioned herself if the traditional Patch loincloth would be better than this? Silva said not to come home with any men, what would happen if she walked around town wearing the loincloth?

So instead, she was wearing a pair of long and baggy jeans, yet they were snug enough to show off her figure, which went down to her bare feet with white with blue design and no laces tennis shoes, the back was cut off making them sandals. After buying that, she didn't have much money left for an expensive top, so she found a white, snug white tank top with a yellow smiley face on it, which also showed off her figure.

Kari sighed and leaned back, her head resting on the back of the bench while her arms spread out and hung on the back as well. Things couldn't get much worse, no money, no food, no shelter and _no_ guardian ghost.

A low rumble echoed from the distance and she looked up at the night sky. She moaned and placed the envelope and everything back into the pack and shut the flap, wrapping the leather loop around a wooden button, before throwing it carelessly next to her on the bench.

"Great, now it's gonna rain. Why did I have to say that?" she moaned, rubbing her forehead.

Through her depression, the shaman didn't notice that the sky was clear and the stars were twinkling through a cloudless sky, and the rumbling hadn't stopped. She only looked up when a faint light came from the road a few yards in front of her, the sound coming from far to the left.

Her curiosity grew and she leaned forward, her hands gripping onto the bottom of the bench, as the lone light grew brighter, more lights also popping up around it. Soon, loud whooping voices were calling all through the night; the rumble of motorcycles growing to it's loudest.

"Hey, what do we have here?" a male voice called, obviously indicating Kari.

The rest of the motorcycles stopped, their engines thundering loudly and revving up and down. All headlights pointed toward her, illuminating her body to the mob of drunken men standing before her, hooting at her body. Their leader, a tall and beefy man, dismounted his bike and walked forward to her, a wooden baseball bat hanging loosely on his shoulder.

"Hello there precious. What are you going out her all alone? You look like you're not from around here. Want some big strong men to help you?" he asked, his speech a bit slurred.

"Well," Kari stood up and grabbed her backpack and sliding one strap onto her shoulder, her eyes glaring at him, clearly not in the mood for such annoyances, "Actually, being out here alone _or_ with company is none of your business, and if you see any men around, let me know."

"Why you-"

"If you're thinking of trying to earn back your pride, whatever little you have, I wouldn't advise it. Not only are you a waste of my time, but I also have a very busy schedule and I have little time to spare." she glared at all of them, making them freeze in their tracks.

After a solid moment of their stare off, one of the bikers bowed his head, his shoulders shaking furiously before his head shot up, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"I don't know who you think you are, you little bitch! But we are one of the most powerful gangs in Tokyo! You'd be wise just to come with us like a good little girl!"

"I don't think so." she replied calmly.

"That's it!"

The same biker reached into a sagging pack on his bike and pulled out a heavy-duty steel chain. He wrapped it once around his hand to get a good grip and then started swinging it around in circles and advanced, threateningly.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," she whispered.

The gang member roared and rushed forward, swinging the chain before launching it straight at her. Her eyes were closed before they snapped open at the last second. Her body leaned backward with ease and the chain past, striking the bench, crashing into the wood and making a huge dent, hundreds of splinters flying off in every direction.

Before the man could react, she ran forward, almost teleporting right in front of him, and elbowed him right in the face and breaking his nose. He fell down hard onto the ground with blood from his nose drenching his face and clothes.

One look at their fallen comrade and the gang held murderous glares in their eyes. They all drew similar weapons from their bikes and advanced towards her, who didn't even flinch. Instead she almost taunted them by shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head.

They all dashed towards her, weapons ready to strike. She glared at them before shifting her weight, her left leg rising up kicking the two in range before bringing it down again. After those two fell, she brought her other leg up and spun in a circle, knocking the ones in the front to the ground and making a domino affect.

Soon all of the gang members were on the ground, groaning and rolling over, trying to climb to their feet and battle her again. After a minute, almost all of them were on their knees, a few staggering to stand already.

Kari quickly thought of her options before all of them were ready for another go. A- Fight them again, risk getting injured and become their mortal enemy, or B- Run and don't get injured, having them chase after her.

She smirked, after years of running in the forest, hiding from Silva, Kalim and Goldva, this should be cake. The shaman ran off without another moment's notice, her bag flying behind her like a cape. Immediately, the mob followed her with no hesitation as she ran down the road.

Her warm breath was coming out in huge waves, turning into a cloud of steam as she panted. Behind her, she could hear their feet scuff the ground and their breaths coming much more rushed, the sounds becoming louder with each passing second.

'_I can never escape them in a flat out run. I have to try and loose them.'_ she thought.

The shaman chanced a glance back and saw that they were almost on her heels. Looking forward, she shook her head vigorously, removing the hair from her eyes when she saw black shadows in the distance. The shape wasn't people, but trees, many trees a few hundred yards ahead.

Kari quickly swallowed some saliva to help her cracking and dry throat and brought her hands around her face, rushing head first into the brush. Behind her, there were cries and complaints as her pursuers stopped right before the forest; they're last mistake.

She ran and almost ran into a tree before she skidded to a halt, leaning over and panting, one hand placed on the tree's trunk. Sweat was drenching her face and shirt as she glared cheekily at the entrance of the wood. Soon, her eyes became used to the darkness within the thicket and the girl was able to see around with ease.

Chuckling to herself, the shaman continued to jog through the forest to see if she could loose the bikers on the other side. Soon the trees became thin and the radiant moon shown through the canopy until suddenly, there was nothing at all.

Blinking, Kari looked down; there were rocks next to her progressing downward and the edge of a cliff and a valley below her. Her face scrunched up and her body fell down into valley below. She was screaming her lungs out with her hands flailing in the air to try and hold onto an invisible rope.

There was a loud crash and she felt everything go black.

Slowly but surely, Kari's senses came back. Pain shot through her whole body as she groaned, trying to roll over. She squinted her eyes further shut before opening them a sliver. The whole world seemed a dark blue with nothing else but blur. With a moan, she opened her eyes wider and felt around with her hands to see what was around her.

She felt soft leaves, wet with dew and crunching at her weight and movement. Leaning her head slightly, the shaman saw tree branches and the long grass a few feet below her. Grunting, she wiggled her butt to try and sit up straight, when her weight made her fall through the gap between the branches.

Her body bounced as she hit the soft dirt beneath the tree, wincing at her already bruised bottom. She quickly looked herself over and figured that she didn't have any major injuries, just some bruises; that and she was going to be _really_ sore in the morning.

A snotty chuckle echoed through the area, the laughter bouncing off the cliff wall and ringing in her ears. Kari narrowed her eyes and glared at the surround area; it appeared to be a graveyard. There were gravestones placed throughout the dirt and wild grass and she could sense spirits all around her.

Rubbing her eyes, she opened them to see about a hundred spirits. They were all partying with drinks and games, chatting to each other and laughing contently. Suddenly, all eyes snapped to her, most of them were wide in surprise, wondering how a human had abruptly appeared in their resting place.

The Indian felt suddenly nervous, even more sweat sliding down her face. These were human spirits; having unfinished business, or just not wanting to leave the earth yet, they stayed behind until they finally were able to rest in peace. The only problem was: Kari didn't know how to act in front of them. All her life she had been around Sacred Spirits and animal spirits of the village, what was she supposed to do?

"Don't be frightened, child. We won't bite," a voice said, sounding strangely familiar.

Kari jumped and looked to her left. There was a beautiful woman, dressed dark blue short kimono for a top, a strip of light blue around the collar and making a plain, yet decorative edge all the way to the bottom, and navy skin tight pants that cut off in the middle calf, flaring out slightly, leaving bare feet, faintly soiled with dirt.

She had a regular purple sash around her waist to keep her kimono shut and the same color decorated, fancy hairpins to keep some black hair away from her face. The rest of her hair was hanging in a loose ponytail with a layer of square bangs framing her face and two wide locks of square bangs covering her forehead.

Kari's brown eyes met her dark blue ones and she felt a jolt fly through her body. The ghost smiled kindly and it hit the shaman like a ton of bricks. This woman was to be her guardian ghost; she could feel it. The King of Spirits told it to be so; this ghost was to be her partner.

"Curious how a child such as you fell from the sky to our resting place." the poltergeist said in a melodious voice, then let out a small giggle that Kari heard before.

"Um… I didn't mean to… to intrude, but these guys were chasing me and-" she started.

"We know, child. We saw them chasing you. I'm impressed that you are such an experienced fighter. You don't see them like you every day." the mysterious woman winked.

"Come to think of it," another female ghost glided over, wearing a white kimono and had a fan spread out over her face, "I believe that you are the first one who has been able to see us for centuries."

"Yes, that's because I'm a shaman."

"A shaman!"

A medium aged man floated over immediately. He was wearing black puffy pants and black shoes, leaving his muscle built chest bare, save for the giant scar running diagonally across it.

"You're a shaman? Really? You don't have a guardian ghost do you? I bet that's why you're here! Yeah! You're looking for a guardian ghost!" he exclaimed.

Kari blinked, "Yes, how did you know?"

The ghost leaped for joy, "I knew it! Well, you know, I'm the best warrior here! I'll make a great guardian ghost for you! I'm loyal to the end!"

The man clasped his hands together and floated close to her, batting his eyes to try and persuade her. The shaman backed away nervously, while the woman in the white kimono shook her head displeasingly. A sudden hand whacked him in the forehead, knocking him away and giving the girl a chance to breath.

"What the hell did you do that for?" he screamed, glaring at the female warrior, rubbing his forehead.

"It was obvious that the girl was uncomfortable with your closeness and everyone here knows that you are a bloody coward. You just want to get out of this graveyard and feel alive again." she explained calmly, her eyes closed and arms crossed.

"Thanks a lot, Aiko!" he snarled, "Now I'll never get out of this place!"

"I'd rather be stuck here with you than see this girl ruin her life, Hiromu." Aiko said.

"Well you don't have to be so harsh about it!"

"So, you don't like it here?" Kari asked, looking at Aiko.

"It is not the most enjoyable, especially with people like him," she nodded in Hiromu's direction, "But I do wish, like most ghosts, to be alive again, or at least adventure in this world."

Kari looked down, deep in thought. She bit her lip out of anxiety and Aiko the warrior and the other female ghost gave her a worried look. Finally, the shaman felt like she gathered up enough courage to ask the question that has been bugging her the whole time.

"Aiko," the ghost looked at her, "It's true that I've been looking for a guardian ghost. I'm a tough warrior and I can see that you are too. You are very knowledgeable about things in this world and I, um, was wondering - I'll work really hard! But I was wondering if you, um, wanted to be my guardian ghost?" Kari finished shyly.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask that." Kari looked up and saw the fighter smile, "I've heard of you shamans and have been waiting for someone like you, a girl with great dreams, skills and room for improvement and failure. I will join you and teach you my techniques that few people know and train you to be the best to achieve your dreams, and I only ask for one thing in return."

"Anything." The shaman had fire burning in her eyes.

"Try to keep up." The ghost winked.

The girl opened her mouth in awe as Aiko beamed down at her, the female ghost cheering and waving her fan around in joy while Hiromu felt his jaw hit the ground. The news had spread fast through the graveyard and everybody was celebrating the new shaman team bonded that night.

Confetti fell through the air and ghosts were dancing around, all of them patting Aiko on the back or giving advice to Kari. There were a few ghosts like Hiromu who grew dangerously jealous of the pair, wanting to be the girl's guardian.

After a few minutes, Kari squeezed through the crowd of ghosts around her, stumbling after escaping their grasps. Aiko followed as her master straightened her hair and repositioned the shoulder strap of her backpack, turning around and facing the crowd of ghosts.

"Thanks for your kindness, but we better get going." she announced.

Loud cries of goodbye greeted her ears as she turned tail and started to jog through the graveyard, jumping over sticks and stones randomly placed on the soil. Aiko floated next to her obediently as she avoided all of the graves until she reached the gravel path leading to the exit of the cemetery. Looking left and right at the rusty metal gates of the entrance, Kari jogged left down the sidewalk, her pack flapping against her back.

"I have a question Kari-dono."

"Yes, Aiko-sama?"

The ghost rolled her eyes, "First off, you don't have to call me Aiko-sama, and it makes me sound old."

"But you _are_ old, about Five-hundred years, right?" the shaman looked over her shoulder.

"Six-hundred, but anyway," Aiko crossed her arms and stopped, making Kari stop in confusion. The wise warrior folded her arms across her chest and closed her eyes, deep in thought.

"What is it?"

"Where are we going in such a hurry?" the spirit asked.

The shaman smiled and continued to walk, "We're going Nowhere and I wanna get there real fast."

"I have a feeling that I'm going to regret this decision." Aiko mumbled jokingly, while massaging her temples.

"Oh no you don't! You're not going to bail out on me now!"

"Well," Aiko sighed, "It's either you, or Hiromu."

The pair's laughter echoed through the empty streets of Tokyo, ringing merrily as the trees rustled in the wind. The two had made a pact that night, and would forever be from that moment on: Shaman and Guardian Ghost.

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Yes, corny ending I know, but I am so freaking tired and I couldn't think of any other way to rap it up. So, you know the drill, Please review! 


	6. Meeting Yoh

New chapter! And Yoh and the gang finally appear! (grand applause) There's even a bit of fluff. I think. Not sure.

**Kitsurumenokitsune:** Yes Mon Capitan! (salute)

**Disclaimer:** I drew a stick figure and named him Yoh. Does that count?

**Note:** This is after the first round. Yoh knows everybody and Len is on their side. They know about Over soul, just not that they need to go to Patch village, ok?

**Note 2:** For the names, I'm using the English ones, just because I'm used to the dub. Zeke/Hao's name will be Hao, because I feel like it.

* * *

A few days had past since Kari and Aiko partnered together as Shaman and Spirit. They were sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of the day outside of an Ice Cream Parlor. The shaman had a chocolate ice cream bar and was licking it contently while the warrior ghost floated next to her, deep in thought.

"I'm impressed that you mastered the double-edged, double ended sword so quickly." Aiko praised.

"Well, we have to find a weapon both of us could use. I've practiced using spears and such so it should be pretty easy, especially when we use Hyoui Gattai, Unity." she thought out loud, her spirit nodding in agreement.

They were silent for a while, Kari licking on her ice cream while she baked in the hot sun. Ever since she arrived in Tokyo, it seemed unusually hot, even the desert was starting to seem cooler than this.

Because of the heat, the shaman had spent almost all the rest of her money to buy the cheapest pair of jeans she could find and ripped them into shorts. The ends were sticking out a bit and there were strings hanging out because it was ripped, but the style looked cool and it served its purpose nicely.

"Thanks again!"

She glanced over her left shoulder and saw two boys exiting the parlor. One was about her height, an inch or two taller with rich brown hair that gleamed in the sunlight. He seemed pretty skinny and his slightly muscular chest showed through his open buttoned beige shirt and he had on long green pants with wooden sandals.

The boy next to him looked like a doll at first glance. He was short, really short. Only a few feet in height, the boy had blonde hair that when to the back of his neck, wearing the same thing as the taller boy next to him and carrying a foot thick encyclopedia.

The two passed, talking blissfully to each other when the short boy stopped. He turned and stared at her, and Aiko next to her. His eyes were wide and his mouth agape as he studied the female warrior, almost like he could see her.

"Hey Morty! Come on!"

The short boy turned as his friend called his name and ran forward, walking along next to him once again. Just before they disappeared out of sight, the little man shot one last look at the ghost before vanishing behind the trees.

"Kari-dono…" Aiko started.

"I know, but I don't think he's a threat. I doubt he even knows what a shaman is, much less is one. He probably thought you were a mirage, and I can't blame him. This heat is unbearable." she moaned and wiped the sweat off her brow.

Taking the last lick of her ice cream, Kari threw away the stick and grabbed her backpack, sliding it on her shoulder and walked down the road. The sun was closer to setting now, a ways above the horizon, but the sky was still turning a light orange.

Aiko had heard from local spirits, more local anyway, that there was a graveyard nearby called Monument Hill, a place where there were supposedly a lot of famous people buried there and had not gone yet to the other side. The warrior had become intrigued so both agreed to check it out.

The rusty iron gates were now insight when a thunderous crash was heard, startling them both. Kari narrowed her eyes as Aiko placed her right hand on her blade's handle, looking for where the noise came from.

To the left, across from the cemetery, a cloud of dust rose from the dry earth, hovering above the trees. The shaman opened her eyes wide as the dust floated down, settling beneath the trees as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

She went to step forward, when Aiko's semi-transparent hand flew out to stop her.

"Stay here. I will see what's amiss," she ordered, before gliding off through the trees.

The wind blew and Kari pulled a few stray locks behind her ear, waiting for her ghost to come back. Strange noises of metal on metal and the crying of voices made her apprehensive, and she untied her two-sided sword Aiko named Subeta, from her pack, still wrapped in cloth to keep it hidden from prying eyes.

After a time, the ghost floated back, looking distressed and floated next to her master, looking glad at the sight of the swords.

"There are boys in the clearing beyond these woods, they are being attacked by another boy wearing a bright red outfit! I believe they are shamans!" the spirit explained quickly.

"Right! Let's go Aiko!"

Kari ran across the street, her backpack flapping in the rush of wind as she pulled the golden colored rope, the dark velvet cloth sliding off of the double blades. Snatching the cover in mid-air, she stuffed it carelessly into her backpack, ends of it sticking out.

Bursting from the last bush, the duo made it to there clearing where they gasped at the sight before them. On the ground were three boys; another one off to the side, while a boy in flaming red pants and sleeveless shirt hovered many yards in the air, a hundred feet away from them. Her eyes widened when she saw that the boy in the middle of the three was the brown-haired one she saw at the ice cream parlor, the other one off to the side was the short blonde.

"Ha! You call yourselves shamans!" the red man placed his hands on his hips and leaned back in laughter, "I, the Great Umihiko, think you should go back to kinder garden where you belong!"

The boy on the left, furthest from her struggled to his feet, holding out a spear, "I won't be made fun of by the likes of you!"

The boy challenging Umihiko dressed in a Chinese type fashion, he had a sleeves vest on that showed of a bit of his abs with baggy black pants and Chinese slippers. He was taking in huge breaths and seemed to be staggering, one eye squinted and glaring at Umihiko.

The shaman in crimson pants sneered and grinned, and floated back, getting ready to attack. His feet seemed to be on fire, an orange flame licking all the way up to his thighs. He leaned forward and fell towards the Chinese boy; one leg bent and in a triangle as the other one was straight as he posed to strike.

The next second, the four boys being attacked gasped as Umihiko fell back to the ground and sunk into the dirt, a small cloud of dust rising. A second later, a girl landed in front of them, a strange, large weapon sparkling a turquoise color in her hand.

She didn't even look at them as she slid a backpack off her shoulders and let it fall carelessly to the ground gripping tighter on her weapon. It looked like a five-foot long and about two-foot wide blade, the blade itself curving back and forth like there were waves in it. When the metal went down to the handle, it was extra long with an identical sword on the other side, the whole thing flaming a blue-green color.

"Hey, who do you think you are butting in, girl!" Umihiko growled, sitting up and leaning on his palms.

The girl didn't answer and instead, twirled her swords twice and held them behind her back in a position ready to strike. She smirked and brought out her left hand and waved to him, infuriating him even more.

Umihiko stood up and dashed toward the newcomer, jumping in the air with his leg outstretched. In a swift motion, she brought both hands onto her sword and slashed upward at him. He started to fall back slowly, a huge cut in his shirt when she twirled on her heels and made a circle, coming back and slicing down at him, some drops of blood flying.

The flaming red shaman landed on the ground and groaned, his shirt ripped and he was covered in dirt, panting heavily. His flaming orange boots flickered and the fire was snuffed out, as he moaned and rolled over onto his side.

"Bitch." he muttered as he stumbled to his feet, running away and escaping in the cover of the trees.

Only when she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore did the girl relax, her giant double-sided swords stopped their glowing and turned into two katana blades, connected by their handles. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she turned to the boys behind her, already on their feet, seemingly recovered from their own battle with Umihiko.

"I'm glad to see you're not hurt." she said in a melodious voice.

The three battle-worn ones simply stared as the shorter boy ran forward from the sidelines. His eyes were large from distress, carrying his heavy dictionary in one hand while reaching out to his friends with the other.

"Yoh! Len! Trey!" the boy called, stopping right next to them.

"Don't worry, Morty. We're all ok, thanks to…" the brown-haired boy from before, appearing to be the leader said as he turned to the stranger.

"My name is Kari. It's a pleasure to meet you." Kari bowed.

The Chinese shaman snorted and turned away, his arm crossed and didn't meet her gaze. The brown-haired one smiled a wide grin as the short one, Morty, gapped at her, the last shaman, having spiky blue hair and a tan winter coat with navy shorts smiled.

"My name is Yoh, and this is Amidamaru." the leader said as he looked over his shoulder, a white-haired samurai appearing next to him, "And that little guy is Morty."

The little blonde fellow snapped out of his trance and smiled, "Nice you meet you. Hey, you're that girl from the Ice Cream Shoppe."

"Yeah, I thought you looked familiar." Yoh pointed out.

She smiled as the blue-haired one stepped forward and took her hand in a very lively handshake, "My name is HoroHoro but everybody calls me Trey. Oh, and this is Kori."

A little girl, smaller than Morty crawled up on his shoulder, smiling sheepishly while fingering her tan dress with markings on it, her red headband slipping over her eyes, her brown hair ruffling up a bit.

Kari smiled and looked expectantly at the Chinese boy who turned away, but he didn't turn around, just snorted as his Chinese warlord appeared and tried to talk to him.

"That's Len. Don't mind him, he's a little touchy." whispered Yoh.

"Touchy!" shouted Len, turning to face the rest of them, his English accent at it's fullest, "I'm not touchy! I'm just wondering why A GIRL thought she needed to come to my rescue!"

Kari looked a little taken aback as Len's friends turned to him; HoroHoro looked mad and Yoh and Morty looked surprised; Kori hiding in her shaman's coat while Amidamaru gripped on one of his blade handles, Len's own ghost, Bason, arms held up trying to calm him.

"Well, I'm sorry then." they all looked up at her, "I didn't know that you 'Didn't want help from a girl.' I just saw some shamans in trouble and decided to help. If you want I can go get Umihiko to come and give you a rematch?" she said in a playful tone.

"No, that's ok!" Yoh said quickly, bringing his hands up in defense.

Morty motioned for the new girl to come closer with his hand, then whispered in her ear with his hand blocking the sounds, "He thinks it's a _dishonor_ to be saved or beaten by a girl."

"I heard that!"

The rest of them smiled as Len threw a temper tantrum and pranced around yelling that, he didn't "need to be saved by a girl" and that he was "strong enough to take care of himself" without Yoh and the rest of his friends as well as Kari.

"Kari-dono," Aiko appeared behind her mistress, making her look over, "It is getting late, we should find a place to rest for the night."

"Yeah."

Amidamaru looked up, staring at this new ghost with interest. Indeed, she was beautiful, but she had an aura around her that she was not to be taken lightly. Her slightly tanned skin and physically fit; somewhat muscular body seemed always tense and ready to strike.

Kari looked over and saw the samurai's stare immediately saying, "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce my own guardian ghost. This is Aiko."

The warrior nodded at the swordsman, the other ghost nodding back. "Pleasure."

"So, you don't have a place to stay?" Yoh spoke up, making everyone look at him.

"Not officially, but you would be surprised how comfortable a park bench can be when you're tired." she smiled.

Mortimer's face turned from one of happiness to one of slight pity. When he looked closer, Kari seemed weary and dirty, probably not having a decent bath in days, she also seemed a little thin, her ribs starting to peek through her skin and skin-tight shirt.

"Well, you can stay at my house."

She stared wide-eyed at Yoh and Len nearly burst his jugular vein. Trey looked pretty pleased, as did Morty. Amidamaru smiled and glanced at Aiko for a quick second, while she tried to ignore his gaze.

"No, really, you don't have to-"

"What the hell are you thinking? She can't stay with us!"

"No really I insist."

"I can't impose-"

"You're not imposing."

"You're letting her stay!"

"I don't really think-"

"You're staying and that's final."

Kari blinked stupidly with her mouth open slightly; her hands were raised in defense but were drooping as she lost the argument. Len was boiling over with steam shooting out of his ears and everyone was else seemed delighted.

The female shaman fell onto her knees and looked up at Yoh, staring at him as he smiled back at her kindly. Blinking one more time she shook her head and turned to him.

"You are really good at winning arguments," she said stupidly.

"Really? Then how come I don't win any?"

The brown-haired shaman, HoroHoro and Morty chuckled to themselves and Len pouted and stomped off. Kari smiled as she scooped up her backpack and placed the straps on her shoulders, picking up Subeta by the handle.

"So, let's get going I'm starving!" Yoh announced, stretching his arm to the sky.

He lead as the rest of the boys followed him, Kari still not moving from her spot, sitting in the dirt. Yoh looked over his shoulder and saw her there, sitting on her knees in the dirt, head bowed and expression unreadable. He waved to his friends to keep walking and stepped back to her, his wooden sandals clicking against his heels.

"Hey! Aren't you coming?"

She looked up into his dark chocolate eyes and blushed, looking away and fingered in the dirt. Her index finger circled around and around leaving a donut shape in the dry earth as he just stood there, watching her with unblinking eyes. Suddenly, a growl interrupted their silence as Kari blushed again, one hand curling around her stomach.

"Hungry?" Yoh asked.

"Yeah…"

"Well, come on! We're gonna have a big feast tonight. Come on!"

He held out his hand and she looked at it, staring before she grasped it. He hoisted her up in one fluid motion, her body almost falling into his chest. Kari quickly recovered and stepped back, taking her hand from Yoh's grip, brushing the dirt off her butt.

The male shaman smiled and adjusted his orange headphones on his head before turning and walking down to the path about a hundred yards ahead, where the others were waiting patiently.

"Yoh…"

He stopped and glanced back.

"Thanks."

"No prob!" Now, let's get going, I'm hungry!"

Kari felt a sweat drop appear on the back of her head as she slowly followed Yoh to the sidewalk and down the road. Aiko materialized next to her; the two were drifting apart from the group, moving slowly so the could talk privately.

"He's an odd one, Yoh." Aiko observed.

"Yeah, but I think he's trustworthy. I don't think he could hurt a fly." the shaman replied.

"More likely, the fly would hurt him."

Kari couldn't help but giggle as she watched the four boys in front of her joke, argue, and just be boys as they trekked along to Yoh's house.

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Weird ending, I know. I'm bad at endings. Either way, Please review! 


	7. Yoh's Mansion

So sorry this chapter is late! I've been having so many computer problems! And, for the time being, we can't answer our reviewers in our story, so I'll just do it here. Special thanks to **Kitsurumenokistune** for your review on this story and my other one Racing Hearts. I really appreciate it! And **Mikauzoran**! Thanks so much! And I feel bad, that's a lot of homework!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Shaman King.

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"Here we are!" announced Yoh, throwing his arms open wide.

Kari gaped at the sight before her. Yoh's house was huge! It was a giant old-fashioned Japanese style house with sliding doors and everything! She observed the perfectly kept lawn and all of the old fashion statues placed around in decoration, she swore she even saw a natural hot spring in the back!

"So, do you like it?" he asked.

"Huh?" Kari snapped back to reality, blinking at Yoh.

"I said, 'Do you like it?'" he repeated.

"This is the _best_ house I have ever seen! Of course I like it! You are one of the luckiest kids on the planet!" she clasped her hands together and stared at him with big starry eyes.

"He he! Thanks!" the brown-haired shaman smiled lazily.

He led the way as the rest of them and Kari followed, her eyes still roaming around the magnificent house. She almost tripped on the steps as everyone else climbed through the front door, waiting in the mudroom.

In this room, there were several shelves for shoes and the like as she looked around. Kari didn't pay attention as Trey, Len, Morty and Yoh slid off their shoes and climbed up one last step and onto the long wooden sidewalk, which went around the whole mansion.

Kari put on foot on it, and immediately shrunk back from the others looks. Horo Horo and Len glared at her while Morty shook his head, Yoh having a strangely serious face. She blinked and looked at each in turn, trying to force a sheepish smile on her face, not understanding what was wrong.

The short blonde looked at Yoh before stepping forward, gripping tightly onto his humongous encyclopedia.

"Hey, Kari. I know you're new to Japan and all, but… there are some… 'Traditions' you have to be aware of. The first one is, you have to take off you're shoes when entering a house. It's just polite, and a tradition on keeping the house clean." he explained, showing a diagram in his book.

"Really? Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

She straight away plopped down on her butt and brought her shoe up to her face, yanking it off then preceding onto the other foot. Kari took both of her shoes together in one hand and placed them neatly in line with the rest of the shoes in the coatroom.

The shaman stood up straight with her hands behind her back and grinned guiltily before bowing deeply in apology. Len stalked off into the house, muttering something about "Incompetent", but the others smiled kindly, telling her it was ok.

"That's ok, Kari. I didn't expect you to know, you aren't from around here, even remotely are you?" Yoh asked, starting to walk down the hallway.

"Not in the slightest."

He led them down the hallway with Morty by his side and Trey walking next to her, his arms behind his head. The desert shaman felt a little strange in this place, walking around on the polished wooden floor. Back home, she wore her moccasins out of respect when around the elders, but other than that, she walked around bare foot where ever, usually in the forest. She winced as her feet kept sticking on the wood and squeaking as she walked.

"Kari," Morty asked, looking over his shoulder, "I've been wondering. Where are you from anyway? Your skin is really tan, are you from the south?"

She knew that she couldn't tell them she was from Patch Village; it would be against Goldva's orders. Then, when the time came to travel there, her new friends would want her to lead them there, and they'd miss the important training that the journey provided. Not to mention, she probably couldn't find it again.

The Indian smiled, "Try, west."

"West, huh?" Mortimer pondered.

"C'mon, aren't you going to tell us?" complained Horo Horo.

"Nope. I… want to see you guess." she lied quickly.

"You've gotta be kidding me?"

"No, Trey," jumped in Yoh, "It'll be fun!"

"Err, ok."

"Are you from Egypt?" asked Morty.

"Nope."

"Africa?"

"Nuh uh."

"Hmm…" Horo brought his hand to his chin in thought while Morty consulted his atlas.

"I know!" Yoh cried, punching his hand into the air, "You're from Siberia!"

Kari tripped on the polished floor and fell flat down onto her face in surprise. She lie there, twitching for a moment before digging her head out of the floor board, and spinning on her butt so that she rested with her palms on the floor.

Mortimer had a similar reaction; he nearly tripped over the already fallen Kari, when he leaned forward, the momentum carrying him into the wall where his hands shot out to hold him up. A sigh escaped his lips and he looked up a Yoh, a sweat drop forming on the back of his head.

"Uh, Yoh?" asked Kari, making him look down, "Siberia's next to Russia."

"Oh… opps."

Everyone sweat dropped as Yoh extended his hand to the shaman on the ground, pulling her up and once again, she landed in his chest. Her face immediately reddened and behind her she could hear Horo's snickering. Kari jumped back out of Yoh's arms and bowed her head, the brown-haired shaman raising an eyebrow at Morty who shook his head.

He shrugged and walked a few more steps down the hall and came to a sliding door, opening it and beckoning everyone inside. Morty went first with Kari following him, Trey and Yoh behind her, the host shutting the door after everyone had entered.

Kari could feel herself gasp at the beautifully decorated room, a few elegant flowers placed around the room and a shiny black coffee table with cushions placed around the edge which everyone went down and sat on. She sat down between Yoh and Morty, trying to look away from the shaman on her right and bowing as she accepted the tea from the blonde.

She picked up the dark green no-handled cup, bringing it to her lips and taking a quick, small sip. Her face crunched up at the strange taste as she struggled to swallow the tea. Len smirked as he slid open the door, coming into the room with a bottle of fresh milk, watching her face with amusement.

"First time you've had tea, huh?" he smirked.

Her lips pinched together, "Yeah."

"He he, you like it?" asked Yoh.

"I… don't hate it." she replied, setting the cup down and staring at it.

"Have you ever tried sushi before?" questioned Horo, leaning forward and closer to her from across the table.

"Nope."

"Don't bother," Yoh butted in, "I still prefer burgers and French fries myself."

"That has been the only edible thing I've found since I got here. That, and ice cream of course." Kari said before picking up her glass and holding it arms length like it was a dirty diaper, then brought it close in a quick sip before putting it down again.

"Finally!" the host shouted, bringing his arms up to the ceiling in praise, "Some one speaks my language!"

"Hallelujah!" everyone but Len raised his or her hands into the air.

After a moment, Kari started to snigger, and then everyone broke into a laughing fit, Horo banging on the table with his fist. Yoh chuckled with his lazy face on when he leaned over and placed his arm around her neck for support, her laughter immediately dying down to a nervous chuckle as blush rose to her cheeks.

"Here we are! A healthy snack of strawberries!" a sudden deep voice called, heavily laced with an accent.

Kari looked up to see a tall, muscular and… hairy man with a strange Elvis hairstyle while wearing white clothes and a frilly apron. He had a platter in his hands and set it down in the middle of the table, standing back up straight and wiped his hands on the apron, sitting down before he actually noticed her. He blinked before his eyes turned into hearts and he brought his clasped hands to the side of his face.

"Oh, hello there my beauty. I don't believe we have met, my name is Ryu!" he said, taking her hand and kissing it.

Kari could feel herself freeze as his lips grew the size of balloons and continued to slop over her hand. Her face was blank when he suddenly stopped, a semi-transparent blade being lightly pressed to the back of his neck.

"If you wish to keep that perverted head of yours shaman," Aiko sneered, "You will let go of her and back away, slowly, if you don't wish to join us."

Then, a green lizard looking man materialized beside the Ryu man, wearing a black headband and what looked like a giant motorcycle helmet. He growled as he reached for his own sword on his belt.

"What do you think you are doing to my shaman!" the lizard man demanded.

Aiko barely looked over, before she pulled the sword from Ryu's neck and pulled out a second one from it's sheath, spinning in a circle until one sword was back on the Elvis man's neck and the other was placed right under his guardian ghost's chin.

"I'm telling him to get away from my own shaman, before he suffers the consequences." the female warrior stated calmly with a tone that was not to be questioned.

"You're worse than Silva." Kari muttered under her breath, before bringing her head up smiling, "I think what she means is, you are a very unique way of greeting people, like gentlemen of old. They don't make 'em like you anymore! I am very please to meet you, but um, could you let go of my hand?"

"Oh, yes of course!" Ryu exclaimed, dropping her hand, the blade removing from his neck, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

"Kari."

He clasped his hands together beside his head again, saying in a sweet voice, "Pleasure to meet you Miss Kari, and welcome to Funbari Onsen!"

"Um, thanks?"

"Forgive me if this is rude, but, don't you have a surname?" Ryu questioned.

She straightened, "A surname?"

"A last name, a family name."

Bringing her finger to her chin she shook her head, "I don't think so."

"Hmm… err… interesting." he replied, leaning back on his cushion.

"You a Native American aren't you?" Morty spoke up, everyone turning to him.

Yoh gave him a look while Len and Trey looked expectantly at her. The blonde just smiled as he had his encyclopedia open to a page with all kinds of tribe names listed and a few diagrams.

"Yep, that's right. How did you know?" she had to ask.

"Well," he blushed, "You said you were new to Japan, which makes since because most villagers don't leave the village. That and, some tribes don't have surnames, just names like 'Crazy Horse' and stuff. And," he reddened even more, pointing at her backpack, "You have all kinds of animal skin stuff."

Kari backed up, blinking in surprise, "Wow, you're really smart!"

He blushed.

"So," Trey leaned over the table again, "Do you have a name like 'Crazy Horse'? You know, a spiritual one?"

She could feel herself biting her lip, blush creeping over her face as she bowed her head, "Yeah, I have quite a few actually."

"Really? Like what?" Yoh leaned closer, getting really excited.

"Yes, Kari-dono, like what?" Aiko couldn't help but tease.

"Well, for starters, Little Squirrel." she muttered, while Horo Horo burst open laughing.

"W-Why… why would they call you 'Little Squirrel'?" he said between laughs.

"Because I always get into trouble, like a squirrel, putting my nose where it doesn't belong."

"S-S-Sorry." Horo gasped, "I didn't mean, mean to laugh but your name is still better than mine!"

"What other names do you have?" Yoh asked, while Len took a sip of his milk.

"Flowing River, Mighty Oak and Girl Who Calls The Rain."

"Interesting." replied Morty.

"So basically," Len butted in, raising an eyebrow, "You call each other funny names, dance around fires and sleep in tents all year round because you _want_ to? You have a very strange family."

Kari narrowed her eyes as she could feel her face burn as she clenched her fists tightly. Horo Horo slapped his face with his hand in embarrassment for the Chinese shaman, while the others, even the ghosts, backed away.

"At least I'm not a midget with a weird hairdo who runs around thinking he's a king while wearing a dress." she sneered.

He slammed down his bottle of milk, the glass shattering over the table and digging into his palm. The Tao ignored the glass being pressed into his flesh as he balled his fists while his shoulders shook in rage. His golden eyes glared at her from under his purple bangs as he stood up.

In a flash, Len had Bason in his over soul and pointed the Qwan Dao at her, the blade lightly touching her chin. If it had hit any other spot on her neck while he was swinging it, she would have died immediately or eventually of blood loss.

"What did you say?" Len growled.

"From your reaction, I believe you heard me quite clearly." Kari replied, remaining calm, while Aiko placed her hand on her blade handle.

"I am a Tao. I do not act like a king, I am a king, and soon, I shall be _the_ Shaman King. So you better get used to it," he recited, lowering his weapon and releasing his over soul.

Len sat down and crossed his arms, sticking her nose in the other direction and completely ignoring her once again. Ryu stood up right after he was done and swept away the shards of glass, walking away through the door he came from and disappearing with a swish of his apron.

Next to her, Kari heard Yoh let go of a breath she didn't know he was holding. She glanced over to see his face unnaturally firm and serious, a look that in the time she'd known him didn't suit him at all. They're eyes met and his face broke into smile, the girl couldn't help but smile back.

"Don't worry about him," Trey nodded in Len's direction, "He's got an ego problem."

"So I can tell."

"Well, he's not as bad as _her_." Morty spoke up.

All around the room, shudders were given, even by Len. The ghosts shrank back and Yoh put his hands over his head in defense, curling up into a ball. Kari raised an eyebrow and looked up at Aiko, who shrugged in response.

"Who's 'her'?" Kari asked.

"_Anna._" whispered Yoh and everyone shuddered again.

"What's so bad about her?" she snorted.

"'What's so bad about her'!" repeated Morty, standing on the table, "She's the bitch from hell! She trains Yoh for the Shaman Tournament and he nearly kills himself everyday for it! Plus, she makes the rest of us her house slaves to do her bidding, cleaning the house, cooking dinner! All kinds of things!"

"Then why don't you just leave? Or better yet, ask her to leave?"

"You… just don't do that with Anna." Horo Horo said.

"Right."

All of a sudden, there was a slam of a sliding door almost being thrown off its hinges. Muffled shouts echoed through the compound and there was a loud crash and the sound of breaking china. Loud foot stomps came from far away to right outside their door as everyone but Kari tried to duck under the table to avoid being seen.

"Anna's back." whispered Trey as the door slid open.

What the young shaman girl saw what definitely unexpected.

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Oh my god! I think I did a cliffhanger! Whee! So, please review! 


	8. Cooking With Ryu

Alright! Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it, Anna comes in, we all know that isn't going to go well.

**Kitsurumenokistune:** Short, sweet and to the point. Thanks.

**Mikauzoran:** That's ok, and here is your wish.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Shaman King… curses.

* * *

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

Kari looked up to see a girl about her own height with blonde hair down to her chin, cold black eyes glaring at her with a maliciously serious face, topping it off with a bright red bandana wrapped around her forehead with two giant tails. The girl wore a plain black dress and had a peculiar necklace of deep blue beads, wrapped twice around her neck with a single red tail on her chest.

'_This girl, whoever she is, is just trying to frighten me. From the looks of Yoh, she's probably good. Too bad for her, I don't scare that easily.'_ The Indian thought to herself.

"My name is Kari and Yoh invited me here." she replied, sitting up straight and tall.

"He did, did he?"

The girl rounded on Yoh, who cowered in fear, shrinking away from her glare. He stumbled to spit out words, trying to explain to this new girl, but failed miserably.

"A-Anna, s-she's just a-a friend. W-We just met, as a matter of fact. I j-just invited her over for dinner, you know, to b-be f-f-friendly." he actually managed to spit out.

"Well, you could have told me! A thousand laps! Now!" Anna pointed towards the door.

Kari, and everyone else, watched as Yoh got to his feet, a waterfall of tears falling onto his cheeks, as he slid open the door and disappeared, Anna following soon after. The black dressed girl slammed the door shut after them, leaving the Indian to stare at the door rather surprised and confused.

"What was that all about?" she turned to Horo.

"Anna is… a friend of Yoh's. She put herself in charge of his training for the Shaman Tournament to make sure he becomes the Shaman King." he replied, leaning back and sipping his tea, "It's too bad she's such a bitch. This is Yoh's house, but she stays here like she owns the place, making all of us do chores and errands while she sits around watching TV."

The western shaman narrowed her eyes, "Why don't you stand up to her?"

"Are you kidding?" Morty cried, throwing his arms in the air before slapping them over his mouth and calming down, "Anna's really scary, but what's worse is she's really powerful. She's an itako, a shaman medium. With that necklace around her neck, she can summon spirits, even from the other side!"

"Really?" Morty nodded, "Well, still, she should learn to be nicer to people."

"It is true," Ryu stepped back into the room, closing the door behind him, obviously hearing their conversation and continued, "But no one is 'Tough enough' to stand up to Miss Anna."

"I'd do it."

"You would!" All four of them shouted.

"I would," Kari sighed, bowing her head, "But I'm only a guest in Yoh's house. I have no place to interfere with his affairs."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind," Horo jumped in quickly, "Us neither."

"I'm sorry. It's not my place. It's against my beliefs and I don't want to step in the middle of something Yoh needs to do by himself."

All of the boys looked down disappointed. _'Wow, this Anna must be really bad. They look like they were going to be handed the Shaman Crown on a sliver platter, only to have it taken away right from their finger tips. Is there anything I can do?'_ she thought to herself.

"Well…"

Instantly, all of their heads snapped up, eyes wide and permanently fixed on her. Len leaned forward and turned his head so that his ear was the closest thing toward her. Morty's eyes were wide and his hands clapped together hopefully while Ryu looked torn.

"I still can't ask Anna-san to leave," Kari started, their heads lowering a bit, "But," their heads snapped back up, "I am able to defend you and Yoh if she gives you any trouble. That is, to a limit, I suppose. It depends on what she says."

"That's good enough for us!" Trey cried, sitting down and smiling like a Cheshire cat while he punched his fist in the air.

Around the table, similar reactions were held, Morty jumped up and glomped Ryu while the Elvis man leaned over and wrapped one of his arms around Len. The Chinese shaman looked at him strangely, but didn't object while he was secretly smiling.

"So then," Ryu turned back to Kari, still smiling while clasping his hands, "Is there anything I can get you Miss Kari? Milk? Coffee? Tea? Perhaps a small snack before dinner?"

"Uh, no thanks Ryu-san. I'm fine." she replied, holding her hands in front of her.

"Alright then! I shall go get dinner started. Come Tokageroh, we must prepare the feast."

Ryu stood up and straightened his apron, waving for his thief guardian ghost to follow him. He slid open the door while Tokageroh just glided through, and disappeared out of sight. Kari just watched him go, staring at the door for a while, growing bored from the lack of well, anything.

In the room, Len was sipping his milk while Horo Horo sat daydreaming, Morty happily flipping through his giant encyclopedia. She tapped her index finger against the table just for fun whist her eyes wandered around the room, looking for anything interesting or eye-catching.

Unfortunately, the room was seemingly dull and Kari didn't want to impose on Ryu for something to do while he was busy preparing her meal. Over her shoulder, she could hear her ghost having a conversation with Len's guardian, Bason.

"So, you are a Japanese warrior?" Bason asked, genially engrossed.

"Not really," Aiko couldn't help but boast a bit, "I was born and raised in the western lands, but when a Japanese colony arrived at my village. I was brought back to Japan and trained in their unique arts and became one of their most prized fighters, until I died in an ambush."

"Most interesting." he replied, taking her hand in his, "But may I say, your beauty expands beyond death." he finished, kissing her hand.

"Oh, why thank you." Aiko blushed.

'_I can't take anymore of this.'_ Kari thought dryly.

"Hey Morty?" she asked, the boy looking up, "Where's the little girl's room?"

He smiled, "Turn the right and down the hall, second door on the left, right?" the blonde turned to Len, who grunted.

"That's ok. I'm sure I can find it, as long as you don't mind me getting lost and looking around a bit?" Kari asked.

Morty shook his head and returned to his book. The Indian couldn't help but smile, biting her lip to try and hide it as she stood up. She carefully stepped around Morty and walked over to the door bringing out her hand when she heard Aiko speak up.

"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you, Kari-dono?" she asked, a slight pleading tone in her voice.

"No," Kari replied, waving her hand, smirking all the while, "I'll be fine, and besides, it looks like you're busy."

The ghost narrowed her eyes, mouthing, _'You better not leave me here.'_

The Indian shook her head, _'I'll be back for dinner.'_ then smirked, leaving the room.

Out in the hall, the house seemed even bigger than she first thought. Both directions looked endless, turning around the corners at the far end of the hallway. Kari still couldn't believe the structure of the house, it was an unusual style that she hadn't seen before, but strangely intriguing.

She followed Morty's instructions and found the bathroom easily. Sliding the door, she saw a very plain room with a sink, mirror and toilet. The shaman scratched her head, wondering where the tub or at least shower was.

Shrugging her shoulder, Kari did her business and washed her hands in the sink, examining herself in the mirror. Even she couldn't doubt that Anna-san was pretty, Kari thought of herself as ordinary, but the others probably thought of her as weird.

Her brown hair was down to her lower back and kept in a loose ponytail of a small strip of pelt, not to mention all her possessions were made of animal skin. She had never worn any make up, well, nothing besides the tradition face paint on holidays.

So, she didn't have Aiko's looks, it didn't really matter. Kari didn't feel like having people like Bason tailing her all day, trying any stupid pick up lines from a millennium ago. She let her shoulder slump and shook her head, that was definitely not on the list.

Sliding the bathroom door, she cautiously peered each way to see that no one was in the hallway. The shaman couldn't ignore that feeling in her chest telling her to look around, so she continued down the right side of the hallway instead of going back to the sitting room where Morty, Len and Horo were waiting.

A little ways further down the corridor, light and noise was coming out of one of the open white tissue doors. Inside Ryu was humming to himself as he clanged pans and was stirring some food frying on the stove while Tokageroh floated nearby.

The ghost was hovering in mid-air with his hands behind his head as he lazily turned around and paused, seeing Kari leaning over in the doorway. Ryu halted in his cooking and followed his ghost's gaze to the new shaman, blinking stupidly and watching him.

"Ah, Miss Kari! Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked politely, clasping his hands together again, a spatula in between his fingers.

"No." she replied quickly, standing on the balls of her feet and holding her hands behind her back, "I… was just looking around, that's all. I haven't seen a house like this and I was curious."

"Oh." was all he could say.

Ryu turned back to the stove and stirred the contents a bit as Kari rose up to her tiptoes, trying to see what was inside. He smiled and stepped aside, allowing her to see the magnificent stir-fry turning a light golden brown in the pan.

"Smells delicious," Kari said in awe, a little drool coming out of her mouth, "You know, a little olive oil will make it cook nice and even with a great flavor and no oily taste."

"Really?" He reached up and opened a cupboard door, pulling out a small glass bottle and twisting the cap, pouring some oil into the pan, "This much?"

"Yeah that should be good," she held her face over the pan, "It's almost done, so you're going to have to keep stirring it so it doesn't burn."

"Yes, of course!"

The Elvis man flipped the contents of the pan a few times and mixed the food quite nicely while a wonderful odor flew into the air. Kari could feel her stomach rumble in anticipation for having a real homemade meal in such a long time.

"Hey girl, how did you get so good at cooking?" Tokageroh asked in a raspy voice.

Kari narrowed her eyes and Ryu immediately looked mad. He turned to his ghost and waved the spatula at him threateningly.

"Don't call Miss Kari girl! She is a guest and we are to treat her as one!" he tsked.

"Oh sorry!" the thief replied sarcastically, "How did you get so good at cooking, _Miss_ Kari?"

She ignored the sarcasm and stepped forward taking the spatula and whisked the food professionally so that it continued to cook, but didn't burn, "Back home, I always had to cook for myself. We didn't really have fast food or anything like that, and I was the one who had to cook for my large family. I know it's kinda stereotypical, but I was the only girl, so I was the one to cook, but if the boys were bad, they starved."

Ryu was a bit surprised, but smiled kindly, taking the spatula back in his hand, "An interesting lesson to learn, indeed."

"This seems great, but kinda small to be a meal, don'tcha think?" Kari looked up at him.

"There is a side salad also, I just haven't had time to start it yet." he admitted.

Taking a quick look at the main dish in the frying pan, "Well, why don't you let me keep a watch on that, while you do the salad?" she volunteered.

"No! I couldn't…"

"No, it's alright. I _want _to. Besides, you need the help and I have nothing better to do." she pleaded.

"I guess…" Ryu started.

"Great!"

Kari took the spatula from his hand and lightly pushed him out of the way of the stove so that she could cook. Ryu looked blankly at his ghost who shrugged, moving and floating over the girl's shoulder to see what she was doing to the food, making sure she didn't poison it.

The Elvis man blinked and shook his head, walking over to the counter where he pulled out a cutting board, a knife and a head of lettuce, preceding to chop it up into smaller pieces. Pulling a clay bowl from the cupboard, Ryu placed the lettuce inside and went on to cut up more veggies to put in the salad.

After a few minutes, Kari had added a few spices she found in the spice rack on the counter, stirring the last of it in and mixing it well, even more drool flowing down her chin.

"That's it. We gotta eat soon." Her eyes forming into hearts.

Ryu looked up and smiled, taking the salad bowl in his hands and walking over to the door, "I agree, you look like you are going to turn into one of our friends on the other side soon. Put it in that container and follow me to the dinning room, then you will be able to eat, my friend."

Kari energetically complied, turning off the heat on the stove and pouring the mix of rice, chicken, vegetables and spices into an insulated plate with high sides and placed the spatula inside. She picked it up, her eyes widening as she almost lost her grip, it was heavy! The shaman held it low, as far as her arms would allow it as she followed Ryu into a similar room like the one before, only a little different.

This room was quite larger, a giant black polished table in the center with even more cushions bordering it. Ryu placed the side dish on the middle of the table, motioning for Kari to do the same. She set the plate down and watched as he pulled out some bowls for everyone and placed them around the table, also bringing out no handled dark green cups and wooden chopsticks.

The female shaman gazed uneasily at the chopsticks, but the steaming food next to them made her worries disappear. Kari sat down on one of the cushions and watched as the shaman finished the final preparations for the meal, Morty and the rest wandering in through the open door.

"Hey, where were you Kari-chan? I was wondering if you got stuck in the toilet." Horo joked, sitting down.

"Nah, I was helping Ryu-kun with dinner." she replied, the Elvis man blushing from the nickname.

"Why did you do that? I'm sure he could do it himself." Len teased.

"Because I felt like being nice, obviously unlike _some_ people." she sneered, glaring at him, "But I also love to cook, so I offered to help."

"So you made this?" Morty asked and she nodded, "Wow, smells delicious."

"I know." Kari wiped drool from her lips.

"Well, let us wait no further," Ryu announced, "Let's eat!"

Kari could feel her heart flutter as she reached forward to start serving herself food, when there was a loud sound of a slamming door echoing throughout the house. A loud feminine voice was heard as a loud rumble of male voices carried under it, the latter growing closer to the dinner room.

"Looks like the love birds are home." Horo Horo said, sighing deeply as the door slid open.

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Muahahaha! I think I did another cliff hanger! I hope you liked it, and sorry it was so late, today was my second day of school, and on my first I already got a one page paper. Sure it wasn't that hard, but it kept me from typing. And is anyone else hungry from this chapter? I know I am... time to eat! Gah! Rambling! Anyway, please review! Je ne! 


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